Targeting Cocaine Users Could Cut Crime

11 February 2014, 09:09 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Capital's been told violent crime went down by almost 25% in Nottingham when police targeted cocaine users on nights out.

Chief Inspector Shaun Ostle sent sniffer dogs into Nottingham for a few weekends just before Christmas, fourteen people were arrested for having cocaine on them:

'There's a clear link between cocaine and violence in that it produces a chemical called cocaethylene.

'The cocaine kind of cancels out the affects of alcohol.'

Cocaine when taken with alcohol forms cocaethylene, a powerful psychoactive agent proven to drive violent behaviour. Stimulant drug use enables drinkers to consume much more than they usually would be able to, exacerbating their drunkenness.

Last year in Nottingham, around 40 per-cent of people arrested for violence had taken a stimulant beforehand.

Chief Inspector Shaun Ostle:

'Violent crime reduced by 23 per cent over the nights that the operation ran- that was inspite of an increased footfall of 10 per cent in the city centre. We are working with partners to analyse the impact of the work so we can take away lessons for the future.'